Last weekend I threw a few belongings in a bag and headed off to Boston to visit my best friend. By myself. The first thing I noticed was how little baggage I needed to bring with me (I'm talking physical baggage here, not emotional baggage; the second kind goes without saying.) Everything I needed fit in one small bag. Those of you who are mothers will recognize immediately how liberating it is to go away overnight and only bring one small bag (said bag not including any Polly Pockets or sippy cups or--living dangerously here--wet wipes). It almost made me dizzy.
The second thing I noticed was how calm and relaxing the drive was (you know, other than the crazy drivers on the Masspike and such). I listened to an audio book, one where nothing rhymed. I drank iced coffee and no one asked for any. I stopped to buy potato chips and then I ate them all myself, just because I could.
Sometimes it's the little things.
The third thing I noticed, throughout the weekend, is how hard it is to go from being Vigilant (almost) twenty-four hours a day to being Relaxed. Every so often I would have this momentary flash of "Oh my gosh, I'm forgetting something!" and, for a split second, I would glance around to see where the children had gone. And then it would hit me--oh right--they are at home. And I would go back to enjoying my mini-vacation.
Although it was tempting to simply sleep for twenty four hours, I opted to actually go out with my friend and enjoy the city. On Saturday evening we took a Duck Tour of Boston. I've been to Boston many many times, but this is one of the silliest and most enjoyable "tourist things" that I have done there. The weather was perfect--sunny but not too hot--and our conDUCKtor was great. (And, randomly, I learned why we give "21 gun salutes" in the U.S., as opposed to "14 gun salutes" or "25 gun salutes"...if you add up the numbers in 1776, guess what you get?)
We then had dinner at Jasper White's Summer Shack, which is the citified version of the little lobster shacks that I love to visit on the Maine coast. Lobster rolls, homemade fries, homemade pie...okay, well, it wasn't very healthy, but it was worth it. And Jasper White himself was in the kitchen that night, I could see him putting plates together.
The only bummer? I'm pretty sure that the waiter brought me high-test coffee at 9 pm, although I had requested decaf. Now, I know this is going to make me sound like an old lady, but I really really can't have coffee that late in the day. Because then I can't sleep. And those of you who read my blog regularly know that lack of sleep is a major current theme in my life, and that the whole point of getting away was to get at least one night of decent, uninterrupted sleep....
So, well. The good sleeping, not so much. But at least I didn't have to climb out of bed and deal with anyone else who wasn't sleeping.
And, happily, it was good to get home. DH did a fabulous job with the kids--as usual--and now that they are getting beyond the "baby" phase, I know that it will get easier for me to get away for a day or two here and there.
The lovely pink and green confections are the superbulky yarn from handpaintedyarn.com that finally arrived.
The bright purpley-blue treats are a mohair boucle that I got in a grab bag from Handpaint Heaven a few years ago. The yarn was originally a bright turquoise color that did nothing for me, so I overdyed it--on a whim--using Wilson's frosting dyes and it came out great. It is possibly destined to be a "meditation/prayer" shawl for a friend whose partner has cancer (more on that in a later post).
The rose colored yarn is more Wool-ease for my daughter's sweater.
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